Recognize the early signs of migraine -- Then act fast!

Heading Off Migraine Pain - HealingWell.com:
"More than 26 million Americans suffer from the neurologic disorder of migraine, according to the American Medical Association. No medical test exists for migraine, so the diagnosis is based on having some or all of the following symptoms:

* a moderate to severe throbbing pain for four to 72 hours that is frequently on one side of the head (the word migraine comes from the Greek hemicranios, meaning half a head)
* nausea, with or without vomiting
* sensitivity to light and sound

About 15 to 20 percent of migraine sufferers experience visual and other disturbances about 15 minutes before the head pain. These symptoms, collectively known as 'aura,' may include flashing lights, zig-zag lines, bright spots, loss of part of one's field of vision, or numbness or tingling in the hand, tongue, or side of the face. Migraines preceded by an aura are called classic migraines; all others are referred to as common migraines.

Get early treatment to prevent a full-blown migraine."

My Take:

Amen. The migraine is a fierce beast. Once established, expect 3 days of suffering. So don't let it get established. The earlier you take counter-measures, the more effective they will be.

There is one caveat: in the very early stages, the migraine may be subtle. You can mistake a tension headache for a migraine. Over-medicating can lead to the equally bad condition known as "rebound headache."

So pay close attention to the early stages. Record your precise signals.

My best early warning signal is to shake my head vigorously -- often it will feel like it is ready to explode when I had no other indication of an approaching migraine. If I pass the "head shake test," I know I am safe -- for awhile.

Do foods cause migraines?

ACHE Articles:
"Fasting is a headache trigger and should be avoided. Regular meals should be eaten throughout the day, including breakfast. It may also be helpful to follow a headache restrictive diet for a brief time. Limit your foods for 4 weeks. If there is no change in your headaches, then, as for most headache sufferers, foods are not a trigger for you.

If you are one of those rare people in whom headaches do improve on a restricted diet, you can add foods back into your diet one at a time to see which foods may trigger your headache. Eating a certain food should trigger a headache within 12 hours. Then you can limit those few foods to which you are sensitive. You should never restrict all possible trigger foods for a long time. This is not likely to be helpful, and too much concern about avoiding foods may be another stress, as well as decrease your enjoyment of mealtime."

My Take:

Rather than arbitrarily giving up whole groups of foods because some doctor "thinks" they might be bad, it certainly makes sense to verify for yourself. Each of us is different, so our migraine triggers should be unique too. I think I feel a "chocolate challenge test" coming on.

Guided Imagery For Migraine Help

PainNP: Changes in the Meaning of Pain with the Use of Guided Imagery:
"Although the use of guided imagery should not be used in place of analgesic medication, it is useful as an adjunct to more traditional methods of pain treatment."

My Take:

This interesting study found that the technique of guided imagery helps patients control their pain -- all kinds of pain. I have used it and can report some mild benefit, but only when used early. Another tool in our migraine toolkit.

Auras & Migraines

Migraine Resources:
"Classical migraine or migraine with aura is preceded by a group of symptoms called aura, most commonly experienced as a visual disturbance. Common migraine or migraine without aura, in contrast, lacks any indicator of the impending headache. Some experience aura without migraine, a condition called amigrainous migraine."

MyTake:

Some "old-school" doctors (as in they are so old they don't even remember what they learned in school) will tell you that for your headache to be a migraine, it must be accompanied by an aura. That is a good time for you to stand up and leave.

Is Botox Your Friend?

i-Newswire.com - Press Release And News Distribution - Using Botox for Migraine and Headache Treatment, Phase II Studies: "(I-Newswire) -

Studies of patients with chronic daily headache [CDH], a disabling headache disorder characterized by headaches and/or migraines that occur on 16 or more days each month.

--Between-group differences ( BOTOX vs. placebo ) on the number of headache-free days at day 180 did not reach statistical significance. However, significant differences compared to placebo were demonstrated on other measures, including a decrease in the frequency of headache episodes, a decrease of at least 50% in headache days, and a decrease in acute medication use.

-- Differences in favor of BOTOX were even more evident in a subgroup analysis of patients who were not taking other prophylactic medication to treat their headache, and were more robust still in a further subanalysis of these patients who were overusing acute pain medications. These latter results are especially meaningful since the overuse of pain medication for headache is associated with maintenance of chronic headache and considerable disability.

-- Treatment with BOTOX� was well-tolerated.

Based on these Phase II findings, Allergan can move forward with a large Phase III clinical trial program, currently scheduled to begin in late 2005, to investigate the safety and efficacy of BOTOX as a prophylactic therapy in migraine patients with CDH. Patients with CDH are at the more severe end of the headache/migraine spectrum, and currently available therapies typically provide inadequate relief to these patients due to intolerable side effects or other limitations. BOTOX is not currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of any headache disorder."

My Take:

While I am a bit queasy about the idea of being injected with a poisonous substance designed to kill certain nerves ... when I have a migraine, I'll try anything.

So bring it on. Options are good.

Eat more chocolate!

Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com:
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dark chocolate can not only soothe your soul but can lower blood pressure too, researchers reported Monday.

The study, published by the American Heart Association, joins a growing body of research that show compounds found in chocolate called flavonoids can help the blood vessels work more smoothly, perhaps reducing the risk of heart disease.

'Previous studies suggest flavonoid-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine and chocolate, might offer cardiovascular benefits, but this is one of the first clinical trials to look specifically at dark chocolate's effect on lowering blood pressure among people with hypertension,' said Jeffrey Blumberg of Tufts University in Boston, who led the study.

"The findings do not suggest that people with high blood pressure should eat lots of dark chocolate in lieu of other important blood pressure-reduction methods, such as medication and exercise," Blumberg said. "Rather, we are identifying specific flavonoids that can have a benefit on blood pressure and insulin sensitivity."

My Take:

Whoopie! Chocolate here I come. Now if I could only avoid that nasty migraine that usually follows a chocolate binge ... But notice they specified DARK chocolate. I must test this out -- I owe it to science.

Lavender - Make your migraine smell & feel better

June 2005:

"When it comes to research, one of the best herbs for headaches seems to be lavender. Lavender has been used for 200 years to treat various conditions. Today it's one of the most common for headache, when it comes to aromatherapy. It's used to relax, and to treat insomnia, which is important for most headache sufferers. Lavender is also used in various forms to treat some skin conditions such as eczema, though one study recently suggested that the therapeutic effect of massage was helpful with the oil or without.

In some countries, such as France and Germany, lavender is eaten or sipped in tea. As a tea in Germany it has been approved for use for restlessness and stomach irritation, according to a 2002 article at the University of Maryland Medical Center."

My Take:

Sounds interesting. Somebody do some research here, please. I guess I am due to go check it out at my local health-foods store.

Come on lavender, baby. Work for me!

Tension Headache -- Bad but better than a migraine

Drugs and Stress Management Together Best Manage Chronic Tension Headache: Clinical Trial Proves Benefit of Combined Therapies: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS): "Tension headache is caused by prolonged tightening of muscles in the head and neck. This most common form of headache is classified two ways: episodic, with fewer than 15 attacks per month typically triggered by some form of environmental or internal stress, and chronic, occurring on 15 or more days a month, with varied pain throughout the day. Symptoms include a dull ache on both sides of the head, tightness or sensations of pressure around the scalp or neck, and depression. Many sufferers also find it difficult to sleep."

My Take:

The study cited above found that relaxation and biofeedback IN ADDITION TO drugs works. It took a study to figure that out? Go figure!

But they were just examining tension headaches. I'll take a tension headache over a migraine any day. Won't you?

Here is an interesting thought. Perhaps a tension headache is a contributor to migraine, ie. you get a tension headache and it is the final stressor that puts you over the edge into a migraine. I believe that is the case for many of us.